Instacart alternatives
Instacart users often look for alternatives due to issues with delivery times, high fees, and customer service. Alternatives like DoorDash and Uber Eats focus more on restaurant delivery, while Instacart Shopper is for those looking to earn money delivering groceries.
Why users look for alternatives to Instacart
- Users experience consistently long delivery times, with orders often arriving over an hour late or being canceled after pickup.R3R4R7R18
- Customers frequently complain about high fees, including delivery and service fees, and perceive price gouging where store items are marked up.R9R20R26R32
- Customer service is often criticized for being unhelpful, failing to resolve issues like wrong or missing items, incorrect charges, or orders delivered to the wrong address.R1R10R12R22
- Shopper quality is inconsistent, leading to issues like difficult communication, incorrect substitutions, damaged items, or items not delivered.R6R13R14R15
- The app can be buggy, with issues like difficulty changing account information, problems with substitution approval, or orders being canceled unexpectedly.R1R36R38
The alternatives
DoorDash is a convenient food delivery service that users find easy to use, especially for those without a vehicle or who are busy R55R58. They offer refunds or credits for problems with orders R52.
Better for: DoorDash is better for users who prioritize convenience and ease of ordering for restaurant food delivery R55R58. It suits those who appreciate a straightforward refund process for order issues R52.
Head-to-head: Instacart vs DoorDashUber Eats provides a simple and easy-to-navigate platform for food delivery, with users appreciating efficient drivers R69R75. Some users also note receiving promotions or 'free money' R72.
Better for: Uber Eats is better for users looking for an easy-to-use food delivery app with efficient drivers R69R75. It may appeal to those who find value in promotions, though some users report a lack of consistent offers R72R73.
Head-to-head: Instacart vs Uber EatsPostmates is a delivery app that users find convenient for ordering food, sometimes with discounts R80R89. It is noted for its ability to deliver a wide range of items, including from restaurants R83R86.
Better for: Postmates is better for users seeking discounts on food delivery R80. It suits those who appreciate a wide selection of items and the convenience of having various goods delivered R83R86.
Head-to-head: Instacart vs PostmatesInstacart Shopper is an app for individuals looking to earn extra money by shopping and delivering groceries R94. It offers the opportunity to make money, though some users report issues with app functionality and customer support for shoppers .
Better for: Instacart Shopper is better for individuals who want to work as independent contractors, shopping for and delivering groceries to earn income R94. It suits those who are comfortable with potential app bugs and customer service challenges R95R96R99.
Head-to-head: Instacart vs Instacart ShopperNoon Shopping offers a wide selection of items at reasonable prices with convenient payment methods and professional, on-time delivery couriers R119. Users appreciate the variety and quality of service R108R111R115.
Better for: Noon Shopping is better for users in regions where it operates who are looking for a broad selection of products beyond just groceries, with reliable delivery and competitive pricing R119. It suits those who value professional delivery and a wide range of payment options R119.
Head-to-head: Instacart vs noon ShoppingYou should stick with Instacart if you value the convenience of having groceries, wine, and even restaurant food delivered to your door, especially if you have positive experiences with attentive shoppers and timely deliveries . It can be a significant time and money saver if you avoid impulse purchases in stores .
Evidence note: The reviews for DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Instacart Shopper, and noon Shopping provide sufficient evidence to describe their offerings and who they suit.
Frequently asked
Why do Instacart users complain about fees?
Does Instacart have issues with delivery times?
Is Instacart customer service helpful?
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R3] Instacart Orders: Delivery times are way too long!
- [R4] Instacart Order always late: I can’t figure out anywhere else to leave a review about how my order is consistently over an hour late from the window I paid for.
- [R7] Instacart Delivery driver picked up food and cancelled: Delivery driver picked up my food order, headed towards us for delivery, and then cancelled the order. Then insta cart just says sorry, better luck next time. WTF.
- [R18] Instacart Drivers: Last two times I ordered, I pay for priority but there doesn’t seem to be drivers to fulfill.
- [R9] Instacart Things to make it better.: Too many up charges and fees. Can’t enlarge the images for those who have trouble seeing the tiny items and print.
- [R20] Instacart Absurd prices: 7.99 delivery fee and 2.49 service fee is genuinely absurd
- [R26] Instacart Nope!: Not worth the extra fees…. Very inconvenient!! deleting and never using again!
- [R32] Instacart Overcharging: There is no reason ANY store should hike up prices just because someone uses this service. It’s price gouging, and not ethical! What is the problem with these corporations?!!!!
- [R1] Instacart Impossible to Order from local Walmart: Can’t change information in my Acct
- [R10] Instacart Worst customer service support: I ordered my lunch through Instacart, but it was delivered to the wrong address, where it actually went, I have no idea. When I contacted customer support, they only refunded the base cost of the order while keeping the 20% tip, service fee, and delivery fee. It makes no sense to charge customers for a service that was never successfully provided. What was even more
- [R12] Instacart I got charged wrong: It didn’t take my otc money before charging my credit card
- [R22] Instacart Terrible Service: Trying To Refund A Item That Was Accidentally Added To Cart But Doesn’t Allow The Option To
- [R6] Instacart Our shopper this week was difficult.: Our shopper this week was difficult. I would get multiple messages from him one after another telling that an item was not available. I would ask for a substitute and would still be told that our item wasn’t available. We did get 2 items that he stated were not available. He initially delivered our order to the wrong address even though he had delivered to us
- [R13] Instacart Total BS: If you happen to get things delivered by a normal person you’re one of the lucky ones. And the whole temperature controlled thing is such BS !!!
- [R14] Instacart Leaving groceries at the door: I have a note asking the delivery person to please ring the doorbell when they deliver and they never do. I would appreciate it so much if they would ring the doorbell. Thanks
- [R15] Instacart Shopper Theives: Second time
- [R36] Instacart NEW FORMAT??: When placing an order with Publix today, the approval of substitutions is different. It was asking for me to choose a replacement AFTER the shopper purchased my listed substitute for a ln out of stock item. There is no thumbs up/down to accept the change. Both I and the shopper was confused since it was new to both of us. Confusing for both parties
- [R38] Instacart DO NOT ORDER FROM INSTACART: I order a butter squishy and a banana squishy and it was out of stock but I could still buy it and I bought it and the next day it said the order is canceled
- [R52] DoorDash The best food drop off: They are amazing great delivery if you have a problem they will refund you credits for the app or you can just get refund for the cash you paid for the food if there is a problem!
- [R55] DoorDash Too easy: Ordering door dash is so easy it’s somewhat addicting. It’s a life saver when you don’t have a vehicle or cannot drive or just have better things to do. Plus I use it to see what restaurants are around me if I’m not sure. But beware: you will find yourself ordering it more and more often, even when you could get it yourself. ITS JUST SO EASY AND CONVENIENT
- [R58] DoorDash It’s very convenient: This my bestfriend when I finally get home after a 12 hour shift and I don’t feel like driving anymore
- [R69] Uber Eats Love it!: Easy to navigate and order! Makes it so easy when you're in a hurry!
- [R72] Uber Eats Uber Eats: It’s very simple and they give free money, cause they’re goated!!
- [R73] Uber Eats Need better promotions: I’ve been using your absence you guys hit the market and in the beginning first two years it was always good lately for the last year or two. It’s gotten very expensive and I don’t get any promotions and when I do there for things that I don’t use which I find that weird if you guys see that someone’s always ordering food, you should throw out more food promos
- [R75] Uber Eats Company and Drivers: Great company and efficient drivers
- [R80] Postmates Fooooodd: Yeeee I just got my food with that 50% off discount yuhhh Id buy more if they gave me a 60% off discount or a $20 discount with a minimum $20 purchase 😎😎
- [R83] Postmates Great: Love the large chips. Not spicy if you want. Freshly made chips. Great for game night.
- [R86] Postmates goated: LIKE WE ARE IN SUCH A FUTURE WITH THIS UBER WAYMO DELIVERY CARTS I LOVE POSTMATES IT SAVED MY LIFE AGGG
- [R89] Postmates Love this: I love this app . Best app ever
- [R94] Instacart Shopper Use my referral code LAID085EE1: I love this app. You can make extra money easily ☺️
- [R95] Instacart Shopper Face scanner is awful!: Face verification scan barely works. It’s incredibly frustrating. If you let people have multiple accounts and have these massive shopping rings anyways and not do anything when they’re reported why have this face scanner that doesn’t work??
- [R96] Instacart Shopper 🤔: Tengo un problema grave con el sistema automático de la app. Está rechazando repetidamente mis documentos válidos de COBRA para el estipendio médico de California, a pesar de que el trimestre pasado me lo aprobaron sin problemas. Soporte técnico no me da soluciones y el bot me rechaza de mil formas. Necesito que un agente humano revise mi caso de inmediato y apruebe mi subsidio."
- [R99] Instacart Shopper Verification Fails: Instant used to be much better but the reoccurring “verification” issue is draining. every time the app prompts for photo verification, i get a pop up that says i need to finish my verification call first. never received a call, no option to reset, just an endless loop preventing me from going online. i just want to make my extra cash like everybody else, why must it be so diff
- [R108] noon Shopping Best in the worlddddddd: I love the neddohs there real ty noon💗🎀🫧🪩🩰🌸👑🫧💕
- [R111] noon Shopping Best app: Very excellent · translated
- [R115] noon Shopping I love noon: One time my cousins ordered nedohs and they were REAL!
- [R119] noon Shopping The best online experience: I have tried so many online stores like Amazon.sa or Aliexpress and others and I can vouch for Noon to be the best in this area. They offer a wide selection of items in reasonable prices. They also offer convenient payment methods and they deliver the items on time and employ professional delivery couriers unlike the others! They are serious on what they do and they lis
- [R44] Instacart Horrible: I waited two hours for two sandwiches from a Publix only three miles away. A shopper messaged me an hour after the order was placed, saying they already had the sandwiches in hand, but then they cancelled without me even realizing it. It wasn't a large order or a long distance from my home, yet I still had to wait two hours. No one else responded until 40 minutes after that first shopp
- [R28] Instacart Wrong item delivered and support will not resolve it: I ordered a vacuum cleaner through Instacart and received a mop instead. This was not an approved substitution, and it was not the same type of product or the same value. Before delivery, I contacted support because the shopper appeared unable to understand my written English instructions. The shopper showed me the item they intended to buy, a
- [R30] Instacart Disappointed Customer: Instacart canceled my order unnecessarily and I had a credit of $30 and they did not add my credit back!!! I am very disappointed with Instacart I order from them daily!!
- [R34] Instacart No easy way to check customer service: Amazing shopping, but having a hard time chatting with customer service about delays and very weak compensation nothing significant
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store